To protect knees or knee portions of a front seat occupant from injury caused by striking hard projecting parts, such as a steering column or the blower unit of air conditioner, upon a vehicle collision, it has been proposed to have the vehicle equipped with an occupant knee protecting device which is mounted in front of the front seat. Some of these conventional devices are of a type composed of a deformable shock absorbing member which absorbs kinetic energy when struck by a vehicle occupant's knee during a collision. However, as will be apparent hereinafter, some knee protecting devices of the above-mentioned type sometimes cause severe problem due to their inherent constructions.